1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to improving fuel cell efficiency in a passenger car and, more particularly, to an arrangement for supplying ozone to the fuel cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
The automobile was invented and developed in the last century as an alternative means of individual transport to replace the various buggies and carts. The internal combustion engine, based on Herr Otto's design was chosen as the power train source but not because of its efficiency, simplicity of manufacture, durability, or low-weight to horsepower produced. In true fact, it had none of these virtues.
Many years of technological development were required to improve the engine's performance, durability and handling characteristics to bring it up to the standards which were then available in the electric motor, with a very long electric line attached.
The reason all that costly research and development work on the internal combustion engine was done by industry rather than developing a suitable automotive generator source for the better electric motor is not one of idiocy. The simple fact was that petroleum became a very important energy and feed stock source for civilization.
But petroleum's main problem was that is contained within it a then useless by-product, namely gasoline. Gasoline is about 40% of the refined product of petroleum. It could not be safely disposed of without damaging the environment or causing disastrous fires and explosions. The only means that industry had to use petroleum was to find a way to dispose of the gasoline byproduct safely.
The chosen course was the internal combustion engine on the automobile. Produced by the millions, the car freed industry of its gasoline disposal problem. The useless byproduct was safely burned up (exploded) in cars and provided what was actually then a cheap energy source for transport.
Besides the pollution problem the internal combustion engine poses today because of its increasing numbers, the greater part of the world cannot afford to follow the advanced world into the highly prized individual transport system based upon such costly technologies which makes the use of a cheap energy possible and less polluting individual transport systems based upon such costly technologies.
In relation to their per-capita incomes, the developing world cannot afford the expensive machinery required to safely utilize gasoline. Neither do they possess inexpensive and extensive distribution infrastructures necessary for the car's universal use in each country or the elaborate maintenance garages needed for its intensive internal use.
For the developing world, the automobile based upon both the internal combustion engine and petroleum is a way into endless poverty.
There is too much capital diversion necessary to possess, use and maintain fleets of internal combustion autos. There will be too much pollution for their fragile environs to survive because of the numbers of cars needed for the individual transport so much desired by many.
Much work has been done on fuel cells to eliminate gasoline dependency. Perhaps the best are in the low temperature alkaline fuel cells developed by K. Kordech at the Technical University at Graz, Austria. These fuel cells are available with a 50% efficiency operating at up to 4 atmospheres pressure over a 50° to 80° C. temperature range. Such hydrogen-air battery configurations of various arrays easily, in reasonable volumes, produce 28 KWH (about 40 HP) with a life expectancy of 5,000 hours. This power output is insufficient for automobile performance which would require in a light car at least 50 KWH (about 66 HP).